Saturday, May 28, 2011

I realized it's been a very long time since I've updated on here. I could say that I've been swamped with school, work, and wedding planning but the truth is that my running has been so minimal that writing about it has seemed pointless.

Around my last post, I went back to my orthopedic doctor hoping he would give me a magical fix for the cyst in my knee; unfortunately, that doctor's visit left me sad and very uncertain about my running future. He would not give me another cortisone injection since it had only been a few months since the first one and the first one did not completely help; the risk of another one outweighed any potential benefits. Instead, he told me that he had no answer for me; the cyst is in an odd spot (and is very uncommon) so surgery is not an option. He ended up telling me to keep getting soft tissue work and consider PRP (platelet rich plasma treatment), which insurance does not cover. I was strongly considering that...until other events in my life made me realize at this moment I can't spend $500/treatment when there is no guarantee it will work; making my knee better is not a financial priority at this time. What broke my heart momentarily was his telling me that I may have to just be happy running short, slow distances and that I may never run the speed and distances I did before; however, he did encourage me to get another opinion and to seek any alternative treatments.

My chiro and I discussed my options and, in addition to PRP, he recommended I try acupuncture. He's never known it to work for something like my injury but said it's worth a shot. Today was my second acupuncture visit and I'm optimistic. The acupuncturist has never heard of a cyst behind the pes anserine but he's confident that a few more treatments will cure me. Fingers crossed....

While it's been very hard to get motivated to run short distances at a slow pace because every step causes discomfort, I am thankful I can run. If acupuncture is unsuccessful, I'll stick to running what I can and remembering that there are so many people in the world who cannot run and so many people dealing with much larger issues than a knee injury. Running has been my way of dealing with hard things in life and, while I and my family are facing some big challenges now, I am lucky that I CAN run and continue dealing with stress in a positive manner.